Show Up at HYBE Insight and the Door Is Shut — Permanently Closed for 3 Years Now

Some foreign visitors still make the trip to Seoul's Yongsan district looking for HYBE Insight, the fan experience center once run by BTS's label HYBE, only to find the doors permanently shut. HYBE Insight closed for good on January 15, 2023, and as of October 2026 there's still no reopening date. Trust an old blog post or travel article and you'll waste the entire round trip for nothing.

At a glance: HYBE Insight is permanently closed (since January 2023) · The alternative, HiKR Ground, is free to enter (only select special programs cost extra) · Located at 40 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, a 2-3 minute walk from Exit 5 of Jonggak Station on subway Line 1 · Floors 1 and 5 are open 10:00-20:00 year-round; the exhibition floors (2-4) are open Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00-20:00, closed Mondays · The K-pop experience zone (an XR studio on the 2nd floor) requires no advance booking · Inquiries: 02-729-9497~8

Run by the Korea Tourism Organization, HiKR Ground is now the better recommendation for visitors since HYBE Insight's closure. The second-floor XR studio lets you walk in without a reservation and film your own scene inside a K-pop music video, while the large media walls on floors 1 and 5 screen video content themed around Korean culture. Joining a scheduled program does require booking through Naver, but the experience zone itself is open to anyone willing to wait in line.

Being just a 2-3 minute walk from Jonggak Station adds to its appeal. Keep in mind that the exhibition floors (2-4) are closed on Mondays, leaving only the media walls on floors 1 and 5 to see that day — knowing this in advance avoids a wasted trip. Since there's no admission fee, it's also easy to slot into a day's itinerary alongside other, paid K-pop attractions.